DUBAI // The Government has adopted 36 out of 74 human rights recommendations made through the UN, while rejecting 30 others ahead of a planned hearing before the UN's Human Rights Council in Geneva next week.
The Minister of State for Foreign and Federal National Council (FNC) Affairs, Dr Anwar Gargash, will again stand before the UN's Human Rights Council, and representatives from NGOs will be able be given an opportunity to raise issues of concern.
Among the recommendations rejected by the Government were calls to abolish the death penalty, to extend freedom of assembly and association and to grant migrant workers more rights.
In an interview yesterday, Dr Gargash outlined a plan to implement the accepted recommendations.
He said the human rights committee would distribute the recommendations to government bodies, and would expect updates on progress every six months.
Dr Gargash stressed that including NGOs in the process would be key to its success.
"This is not a perfect society, but we value issues of human rights which we intend to tackle systematically and lift the standards of human rights," he said. "Whether it is legal changes or workshops, we will do it." After the UAE's session before the UN's top human rights body on Dec 4, 74 recommendations were submitted. Of those, 21 were rejected outright and 36 were accepted.
Yesterday, Dr Gargash said a further nine had been rejected, with eight still under consideration.
"Most of the recommendations that were rejected were concerning the value system, religion and labour," Dr Gargash said.
"The UAE is the optimal transitional society - very traditional, but also very modern at the same time. With this comes different expectations."
Among the recommendations still under consideration is a suggestion that Emirati women married to non-citizens be allowed to pass their nationality on to their children, Dr Gargash said.
The Government is still considering whether to ratify several international treaties, including the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and the International Covenants on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Civil and Political Rights.
Also still under consideration is a Norwegian proposal to unblock websites.
Among nine reccomendations rejected after some deliberation was a suggestion by Sweden that 74 recommendations were submitted f all "economic, social and cultural rights of migrant workers" be fully respected. Similarly, two issues raised by Norway to ensure freedom of expression, assembly and association and to protect human rights defenders in accordance with the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders were not adopted.
In December, the 25-member delegation led by Dr Gargash responded to more than 60 questions and comments from UN member states at the HRC.
Soon after, the Government indicated that it intended to establish a human rights commission.
Although he gave no timetable, Dr Gargash said that he expected it to be in place before the UAE next stands before the council in four years.
"There are different models of how to approach this, but whatever model we choose has to have a high level of independence and credibility and we are very clear that we want to do this and we need it," he said.
In December, the three areas that prompted most recommendations related to labour issues, the UAE's value system and freedom of expression, Dr Gargash said.
"Labour is a huge and complicated issue, but things are improving and we are addressing the demand for us to do more," he said.
On the subject of allowing the formation of labour unions, he said an "acceptable formula" had yet to be found. Most of the labour-exporting countries were understanding of the UAE's efforts in the field, he said, while others were more focused on the "general picture".
"Labour [issues] will always be on our table because of our demographics," he said. "We need to learn and keep working with dynamism regarding labour."
One recommendation called for the death penalty to be scrapped. "It is difficult to superimpose another value system," said Dr Gargash, adding that the death penalty was "part and parcel of our traditional and legal body".
"We are not a perfect society, we are a society like any other challenged by many inequalities and issues," he said. "But, we are also fair and good I think in our approach and we want to develop. We'll never score 100 per cent, but we are working towards that."
The review came as part of a process that began last year known as the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which will see human rights conditions in all 192 UN member states examined every four years.
The 47-member council calls the process an "interactive dialogue" between each state and other UN members.
In September, the UAE released its first human rights assessment. The report included inputs from organisations including the General Women's Union and the Jurists and Journalists Associations.
The UAE's review was based on three reports: the national human rights report, one compiled by UN agencies and another with contributions from organisations including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty and Mafiwasta.
Three countries - Indonesia, Cameroon and Argentina - were appointed by the council to act as rapporteurs on the review process. Following the Dec 4 review, representatives from those countries liaised with the UAE delegation on which recommendations from the three-hour session would be accepted.
The Government is responsible for the implementation of the recommendations it agrees to and will be held accountable for commitments when the UAE next stands before the council in 2012.
zconstantine@thenational.ae
Bareilly Ki Barfi
Directed by: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring: Kriti Sanon, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao
Three and a half stars
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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F1 line ups in 2018
Mercedes-GP Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas; Ferrari Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen; Red Bull Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen; Force India Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez; Renault Nico Hülkenberg and Carlos Sainz Jr; Williams Lance Stroll and Felipe Massa / Robert Kubica / Paul di Resta; McLaren Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne; Toro Rosso TBA; Haas F1 Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen; Sauber TBA
Info
What: 11th edition of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship
When: December 27-29, 2018
Confirmed: men: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Kevin Anderson, Dominic Thiem, Hyeon Chung, Karen Khachanov; women: Venus Williams
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae, Virgin megastores or call 800 86 823
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
RACE CARD
6.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82.500 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (Turf) 2,410m
8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm Dubai Trophy (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (T) 1,200m
10pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,400m
Best Foreign Language Film nominees
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Kibsons%20Cares
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Try out the test yourself
Q1 Suppose you had $100 in a savings account and the interest rate was 2 per cent per year. After five years, how much do you think you would have in the account if you left the money to grow?
a) More than $102
b) Exactly $102
c) Less than $102
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
Q2 Imagine that the interest rate on your savings account was 1 per cent per year and inflation was 2 per cent per year. After one year, how much would you be able to buy with the money in this account?
a) More than today
b) Exactly the same as today
c) Less than today
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
Q4 Do you think that the following statement is true or false? “Buying a single company stock usually provides a safer return than a stock mutual fund.”
a) True
b) False
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
The “Big Three” financial literacy questions were created by Professors Annamaria Lusardi of the George Washington School of Business and Olivia Mitchell, of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Answers: Q1 More than $102 (compound interest). Q2 Less than today (inflation). Q3 False (diversification).
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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